Discovering the Past: BelSU Students Explore the Palaeolithic Past in Exciting Archaeological Expedition

The Phratria Belgorod archaeological team has recently returned after works conducted as part of the Verkhnedesninskaya archaeological expedition, organised by the Institute of Material Cultures of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Under the supervision of Sergey Prokopenko, a candidate of historical sciences and associate professor in the Department of General History at Belgorod National Research University (BelSU), the students engaged in archaeological practice. They worked on one of the sites within the Khotylevo I Middle Palaeolithic area, specifically on the second and third living floors. As noted by Prokopenko, this site had not yielded any residential structures or anthropological material despite many years of excavation. However, the current efforts of the Verkhnedesninskaya archaeological expedition, led by Alexander Ocheredny, aim to change that.

During their work on the second living floor, the students uncovered numerous fragments of preserved organic matter. Among their finds were a well-preserved fern leaf, a large grain, a small piece of rolled bark, and several lithic flakes. The most intriguing discovery, according to Prokopenko, was a significant accumulation of plant remains at one excavation point, which will aid scientists in better understanding the flora and fauna that existed in the region 80,000 to 60,000 years ago.

The third cultural layer revealed many artefacts related to Neanderthal life. In addition to flakes, the excavation team discovered a large fragment of wood – referred to by the students as a “log” – as well as the horn of an ungulate, a fragment of mammoth bone, and several small bone fragments from various small fauna.

“Working on a layer filled with artefacts requires students to be attentive, physically fit, and possess at least a basic level of skills in preparing the cultural layer of a Palaeolithic site. Overall, based on our findings from this cultural layer, we can confidently say that the students from Belgorod made no serious mistakes and successfully accomplished their tasks,” commented Sergey Prokopenko.

He also mentioned that some members of the Phratria team may have the opportunity to participate in further studies at the Middle Paleolithic site in Betovo, where cores and other flint products have been discovered.

The students’ visit to the office laboratory provided them with invaluable practical experience. Maria Zheltova, a research fellow at the Palaeolithic Department of the Institute of Material Cultures of the Russian Academy of Sciences, conducted an informative excursion detailing the methods used in material analysis and the preliminary results from processing their finds. The students were able to view previously discovered artefacts up close. Additionally, they were fortunate to attend a series of lectures designed to enhance their understanding of archaeological practices. Among the speakers was Alexander Sokolov, a Russian science journalist and co-founder of the Antropogenesis.ru educational portal, who discussed the falsification of archaeological and paleoanthropological materials. Researchers from the Institute of Geography at the Russian Academy of Sciences – Elena Kurenkova, leading researcher and candidate of geographical sciences; Evgeny Konstantinov, head of the laboratory of paleoarchives; and Nikita Sychev, junior researcher – also presented on paleogeography and its research methods.